


Weak When You're Around

by Puppyrules



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 21:14:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13621794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puppyrules/pseuds/Puppyrules
Summary: An alternative take on Ben's perception of Mal when she arrives in Auradon. Inspired by a song by the same name as the title





	Weak When You're Around

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CamilleNicole](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CamilleNicole/gifts).



> Ok. So the purpose of this story is to give Mal and Ben the happiness they deserve, and to act as an apology for CamilleNicole because I feel horrible for misleading her in one of my other works. Once I had received her message my heart sank, I had let down someone when I had begun writing to give people joy not heartbreak. I hope this little story will make it up to you :3
> 
> I hope you like it, and once again I am truly sorry.
> 
> -
> 
> The story itself is based off of a song called Weak When Ur Around by Blackbear, I took aspects of the song and tried to integrate them into the lives of our lovely characters. Also, if you are familiar with most of the conversations it's because I've used some of the script from the movie
> 
> Enjoy !!

It was as if he had been struck by the bow of Cupid. One minute he was preparing himself to meet the four candidates he had hand-picked to attend Auradon Prep from the Isle, and the next he couldn’t concentrate on anyone apart from the purple haired fae that stood before him. Cupid’s arrow had definitely shot itself directly through his own heart alright. Not only did he feel an electric tinge to the air, but he couldn’t even control his nerves. 

She was breath taking to say the least. She was small yet, she carried a certain aura of strength and determination that screamed she was mighty and fierce. Then there were her features. He couldn’t think of anyone as beautiful as she was. Her emerald eyes glistened in the shine of the sun and left him searching for a pathway to her soul. Then there were her lips. They were plump and reminded him of the softness of how he imagined clouds were to the touch. They looked incredibly kissable. He pulled himself out of his own daze. 

“It is so, so, so good to finally me-” Her hands were a lot stronger than what he had initially thought “meet you all. This is a momentous occasion, and one that I hope will go down in history!” After shaking Carlos’s hand he realised he now had dirt on his finger, he raised it to his lips. 

“Is that chocolate?” Carlos only looked at him sheepishly. He continued “as the day that our two peoples began to heal!” He finally finished the speech he had been preparing for over a week now. As much faith that he had in his own proclamation, he was still wary of things that could go wrong and he feared that any issues with his choices could jeopardise not only his idea to bring the innocent children from the Isle, but the future of his kingdom. 

Mal interrupted his thought process. 

“Or the day you showed four people to the bathroom?” She glared at him, a slight pout to her lips. His eyes lingered there as he replied.

“A little bit over the top?” He chuckled. 

“A little more than a little bit.” She was sassy too, Ben was certainly going in for a ride with Mal. 

“So much for my first impression” He laughed, heartily at himself and noticed that Mal too found his witty remark enjoyable. He watched the smile creep upon her face and a gentle laugh escape her lips. 

-

After showing his new friends to their dorms, he made the long journey back to his own room. Each step continued to separate him from Mal, and for some odd reason, it pained him. Ben didn’t think he had felt anything that came close to the adoration he had had for someone he just met. 

He posed himself several questions to try and derive a probable conclusion. 

1\. He admired her. This would be because she was raised in an unforgiving and unpredictable environment, despite inhabiting a hostile land, she still carried herself with pride. 

2\. He felt sorry for her. These were of similar reasons to his first conclusion. She had had it rough; her Mother was of course one of the most feared villains in all of Auradon. Surely, she must have faced more misgivings than he could possibly imagine. 

Unfortunately these two conclusions were clearly wrong as he didn’t feel the same sympathy for Carlos, Jay and not even Evie. He continued to ponder, following the shape of the carpet. 

3\. He was entranced. Of course this was probably also impossible considering he didn’t even know if Mal could do magic. It was so bizarre to him, at a single instance he felt electricity run through his body at the sight of a single girl. His heart had quickened, even his respiration rate had increased, how could a single girl do something like that?

4\. Well. He couldn’t really think of a fourth reason other than the fact that maybe he liked her. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? He had literally met her for the first time that day. 

The journey back seemed a lot longer than usual. The paintings on the wall of his parents seemed a lot more enticing. The tale of his own Mother’s goodness meeting the grief and Badness in his Father seemed a lot more true and thrilling than it had been before. 

He stopped in front of his favourite picture. It was hand painted by Cogsworth. It was an image of his Mother reading Gulliver’s travels by Jonathon Swift. She was enthralled, her hands even tightened on the cover of the book to demonstrate her eagerness to finish. Across from her sat his Father, he wasn’t reading or eating; instead he was staring at Belle, captivated by her compassion and devotion to reading. His eyes were filled with warmth, and love, Cogsworth had done a magnificent piece that truly conveyed his parent’s emotions.

Ben continued to admire the artwork until he felt someone touch his arm. 

“Wanna try again for a first impression?” It was Mal, she stood there with her arms folded and her signature pout on her lips. Not that he was analysing everything about her. He could feel his heart race once again and his breathing becoming more fragmented and shallow. 

“Oh! Hello Mal.” *Goodness Ben is that all you can come up with*. He was usually so much more polite and mature, he couldn’t believe why he was babbling like a fool. He only assumed he failed at another first impression. 

“O-K” She replied punctuating each letter as if to mock him. He supposed he should have felt hurt, but it only made the hair on his neck stand on end in anticipation. 

“So how are you liking Auradon so far?” He questioned, figuring that finding common ground with her wouldn’t make him as weak as he felt around Mal already.

“So far? I mean, it’s been probably an hour, at most.” She looked at him with a mixture of confusion and disbelief. *God Ben, you’re so stupid, now what’s she going to think of you?*

“Oh. Right” He laughed awkwardly, lowering his eyes to avoid her gaze. 

She reached over and placed a hand on his arm. “Hey King Ben?”

“You can call me Ben, it’s fine” He interrupted, figuring that she would feel more comfortable if she saw them as equals. 

“Anyways, Ben, I much prefer Auradon over the Isle. Well, apart from all the sun, honestly watch me become as red as the accents on this exact carpet.” She said smoothly, only making Ben praise her personality even more. He let out another hearty laugh and let her walk off. 

The wobbling he didn’t know he had in his knees finally settling. 

-

The next time he saw her wasn’t for a bit over a week. He had seen her spray-painting her locker and was astounded by the creation it was bold and colourful, a piece of street-art worthy for a museum. The piece itself was clad with her signature colours, a deep lilac and an emerald green that only accentuated her personality. 

He knew he was going to have to approach her, she had also been staring at him from the corner of her eye, if he didn’t make an effort to approach her, she’d notice. Personally, he would jump to the ultimate conclusion that if the roles were reversed, she didn’t like him and he would hate to leave that impression on Mal. 

He took a deep breath and began walking over to her. 

“Hey!” Simple, he hoped it would be effective.

“Hey.” She replied, not giving off any real emotion.

“You should really think about taking talent off the locker and into art class. I could, uh, sign you up. What do you think?” As per usual he stumbled over his words, clearly diminishing any hope whatsoever he had with speaking with Mal on terms other than how she finds Auradon. 

“Way to take the fun out of it” She answered light-heartedly, only perpetuating his own confusion and doubt. She strode off into the direction of the bathroom abandoning himself with his thoughts once again. 

He made a conscious decision to seek the advice from both his parents. 

-

“Ok. Mum, Dad; when did you guys know that you were… you know, destined to be together?” Ben knew the question sounded odd, but he wanted to know, he needed to know. He had caught them at the kitchen table, waiting for dinner to be served. 

“Look Ben.” His Mother started. “The beginnings of our relationship were tumultuous to say the least.” She shared a glance with his Dad who only replied by raising her hand to his lips and placing a soft kiss. 

“It sort of just happened, kiddo.” His Dad continued. “We had a mutual connection. I fell in love with her devotion and sincerity and she fell in love with my humble nature” Belle only scoffed at his response. Ben could only assume his Father wasn’t as humble as he was now. 

“Call it Mother’s instinct but Ben, you’re only one little person in this big world” She cooed, raising her free hand to cup his face “Follow your heart OK.” 

He truly loved his parents, and in that moment he loved them even more. They supported him, and cared for him in a way he didn’t think was humanly possible. He didn’t even have to inform them of his predicament; they trusted him enough to make the right decision. 

His Mother was right. He should follow his heart, and despite how weak he felt when she was around, he believed a place in his heart was for Mal. He just needed to take the time to get to know her a little better, and she needed to trust that he wasn’t all about his job. 

-

Ben saw her once again the following day. He had gone on an early stroll around the outskirts of the school to only see Mal seated beneath a tree drawing on a notepad. He decided he would approach her, and began preparing a witty greeting to capture her attention. 

“I see you’ve joined Art Class” He believed he was off to a good start until she jumped up quite startled. 

“Jeez, I didn’t see you there Ben.” Her left hand had raised itself to cover her chest whilst she clutched the notebook and pencil with her right. “Oh this? Yeah, guess you didn’t need to sign me up after all.” 

He smiled and gestured to the floor, asking if he could join her. She nodded and scooted over slightly making room for him beneath the canopies of the tree. At that moment he noticed her drawing, it looked so realistic. She had drawn with just a grey led pencil a sketch of the school during a storm. 

“This is amazing” He beamed at her, clearly proud of her efforts. 

“Thanks.” She said “This is the only weather I can see myself not getting burnt in.” They both let out a small laugh. Ben thought that for some odd reason, she knew how to work a man like himself. She was quip, and smart and beautiful – a real package. He couldn’t understand why he didn’t function around her at times. 

However, sitting here now, with her in the morning dew and the slight rays of sunshine peeping over the hills, he felt complete. He felt wholesome. 

“This is probably going to sound really random.” *Don’t muck it up Ben, don’t muck it up* “But, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to have lunch with me sometimes” He waited patiently for an answer, letting her think clearly about his question. 

“Sure” She muttered. “That sounds cool.” 

He could feel his heart racing, but not from anticipation this time, but from pure thrill and excitement. She had actually said yes. He composed himself and placed his arms around Mal’s shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. 

“Does tomorrow sound good?”

-

Ben approached her room the next day, knocking softly on the door and waiting for her to reveal herself. Once she had opened the door he knew the difference between what pretty and beautiful were. He could see her personality shine, not only through her clothes but it radiated off her with her genuine smile. He couldn’t wait 

“Tell me something about yourself that you’ve never told anyone.” He stated, following her on a bridge slung between the trees on route to their luncheon location. 

“Um… My middle name is Bertha” She replied.

“Bertha?” 

“Yeah. Bertha. Just my mum doing what she does best. Being really, really evil. Mal Bertha” She giggled softly. It was like music to his ears. 

“Mine’s Florian” 

“How princely. Oh that’s almost worse” She laughed again, and Ben couldn’t be more pleased. 

They approached the small picnic he had set up for the two of them. He saw Mal’s mouth gape open and took that as a chance to grab her hand and lead her down the not so slippery slope safely. 

They talked and ate for what seemed like hours, Ben relished every minute of it. It was so easy, he discovered aspects of her he never thought he’d know. She had revealed how she felt growing up, the difficulty of trying to appease her mum on a daily basis and her genuine excitement from being pulled away from such a toxic environment. 

One he had thought that their food had settled, he stripped off his clothes only for Mal to look at him incredulously. 

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” She gaped at him, still sitting on the floor in confusion.

“Let’s go for a swim!” She continued to glare at him, as if she was unsure if it was safe or not. Once again he took her pause as an invitation to surprise her. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her over his shoulder as he plunged into the water. 

She was in a fit of giggles as they splashed each other, soaking her previously dry clothes. Once again, Ben felt wholesome, as if he was meant to be here. He waded over in the water so that he was less than an arms distance away. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other came up to gently graze her cheek. 

She looked at him softly, a small smile to her lips. He could feel her wrists resting on his shoulders and her hands lock themselves behind his head. He took this as a cue to connect their lips for the first time. 

They were softer than what he could have imagined. They were fluffy like freshly plumped pillows and tasted of strawberries and jam because of the donut she had eaten before. The kiss itself felt like he had found heaven on Earth, and in that moment he knew that if he didn’t have Mal, than he didn’t really have anyone at all.


End file.
